Kantai Collection: new Admiral
by 19rrands
Summary: The war Against the Abyssals has been going poorly. in no small part due to a incompetent Admiral. the United States and Japan get rid of this admiral and find a replacement to be the overall commander of all Kanmusu belonging to the United States and Japan. The man they pick is rather unorthodox, but is believed to be the man for the job to clean up the mess that was left behind.
1. Chapter 1

Kantai collection: new admiral

"Words" = English

'Words' = Japanese

{words} = German/sentronian

[words] = thoughts

POV: IJN Yamato

June 6th, 2027, 1200 hours

I sat in a car heading up into the rocky mountain range to meet my new admiral. Specifically, the new admiral that would be taking command of the Japan naval district, and all the ship-girls based there. Though the Japanese ambassador coming with us was none too happy apparently, he thought that this new admiral would be worse than the one we had before.

I found that hard to believe when I read his file that I had been given. The file said he was a kind, friendly, and sarcastic man in a social environment. In a work environment, however, he was cold, blunt, and logical. I found those two things contradicted each other, and made meeting him interesting. Our former admiral had been none of those things.

He let his emotions consume him and rule over his actions. At times he ordered some of the ship girls to be scrapped. Even then he began to do it to any ship girl that he deemed it was appropriate which thinned our ranks so much we could barely hold the line against the abyssals. then, the action that got him removed from power, he abandoned the combined army of Japan and US forces on Okinawa to die at abyssal hands.

Though the only reason the japan ambassador was upset was this new admiral's unwillingness to take command. 'I do not want the responsibility of heading the entirety of the ship girl fleets. I already have my hands tied up enough, but if there is no other option I will step up to the task.' were his words in the file I had, and both the militaries of Japan and the US deemed him the only one for the task.

I found that unsettling. Was he really the only one that both nations could agree on? The reason he was chosen for the position was the fact he had shown leadership abilities throughout his military career particularly against the abyssals, the few times he faced them it almost ended his life, but he brought victory to each one. I looked out at the valley below as we went on our way.

"Your new admiral prefers to keep himself isolated" the japan ambassador told me some time ago, but from the file I had been given the reason his facility was up here being, so he could more easily experiment on new weapons for our militaries. From what I read he's a brilliant engineer and has started making 'Rail Guns' more accessible to our militaries. The files didn't go into much detail about the 'Rail Guns' only that they were much more deadly than normal guns.

"We're here." the Japanese ambassador sighed as the car stopped and I was jarred from my thoughts. I quickly let myself out of the car and, after closing the door, I gasped when I saw the structure we had been driven to. It was very large and very geometric, but it had a sort of elegance to it that I didn't think was possible. The building was colored red, black, and gold, an odd choice.

"Are you coming?" I heard the Japanese ambassador call to me and I nodded and followed him to the door. He knocked, and we were quickly greeted by a very odd-looking man. He was very tall, almost as tall if not taller than me, with broad shoulders, but he was very thin. The thing that got my attention the most was his almost abyssal like appearance, long black hair, reddish eyes, and slightly pale skin.

"Hello, I assume you're the Japanese ambassador?" he asked in a deep, but kind and civil, voice while keeping a straight face.

"Yes, I am, Mr. Tristram Raeburn. We're here-" the Japanese ambassador started, but was cut off.

"Yes, yes, I know. The proposal for me to become the ship girl's admiral. I already have a filled-out copy." Tristram explained to the ambassador, and the ambassador went wide eyed.

"How did you get them before we got here!" the ambassador exclaimed and Tristram grinned.

"I pulled a few strings. Now are you going to stand on my porch all day or are you going to come inside?" he asked and stepped aside to allow us to enter. The ambassador glared at Mr. Raeburn before going inside and I followed. The inside had the same geometric designs as the outside, and the same elegance. Mr. Raeburn walked past us and beckoned us to follow him. The ambassador followed him while asking Mr. Raeburn about how he got a hold of the proposal.

I wanted to know how he got a hold of them myself, but the intricate design of the building drew my mind away, and I found myself lagging behind a bit.

"What do you mean you pulled some strings?" the ambassador asked Mr. Raeburn again in a raised voice.

"I asked my admiralty for a copy of the proposal, so I could verify there was no change in them. Call me paranoid, but I'm not taking any chances of having my ass screwed over by some hole in the proposal." he explained, in a low and civil voice, as we arrived at a front room of some kind. It had 4 chairs lined along the far wall facing the center of the room. "Have a seat. No need to stand around. And what drinks can I get you two?" he asked facing the ambassador.

"Water, thank you." the ambassador grumbled as he sat down. What was with him? Then Mr. Raeburn looked right at me. His red eyes seemed to peer directly into my soul when he looked at me.

"I'll have w-water as well." I told him stuttering a little as I did then quickly sat down as he left the room. A few moments later he came back with two glasses of water, and then handed each of us one. He departed again and returned with a glass of reddish liquid then sat down in the chair across from us.

"The terms are on the table have a look at them all they lack is your signature." he told the ambassador and he sent Mr. Raeburn a glare before picking up the terms and read them.

"We didn't agree to give you the plans to summon, and modify the Ship-girls." the Ambassador nearly hissed at Mr. Raeburn, and Mr. Raeburn merely smirked.

"Call up your admiralty then and prove me wrong. These are current as of 0600 hours this morning." he replied calmly then took a sip from his glass. I stared at Mr. Raeburn with a shocked expression. he was getting the plans to build more of my kind? The ambassador stood up and went into another room with a look of hatred. Mr. Raeburn however remained in his seat, with a neutral expression, while drinking the strange liquid in his glass every so often. His smirk vanished behind an agitated expression for a few moments like he had this happen before.

"W-why do you want the ship-girl plans?" I asked timidly when curiosity came over my better judgement. Mr. Raeburn looked at me a moment unblinking causing me to shiver involuntarily.

"Remember miss Yamato I'm an engineer and a weapons development officer. my intention is to simply improve upon them and." he leaned forward, and his voice dropped to whisper. "I have many ship plans in my vaults here that if I built them in ship-girl form would turn the war 180 degrees in our favor." he told me then sat back up and took a sip from his glass. My eyes widened why hadn't he given these plans to japan or America or anyone for that matter if they could do that! Though as I watched this man do things I saw he had a handle on everything that happened and everything he did had purpose.

"B-but if they're that powerful why haven't you given them to any of the Countries that could build them?" I asked but that's when the ambassador decided to return with a look that contained more hatred than before.

"I don't know what you did Mr. Raeburn but you're getting them in two months. Only a disposable copy not the original, and it will be hand drawn." the Ambassador explained obviously hating every word he spoke. Mr. Raeburn nodded seemingly satisfied with how this turned out.

"Then all we need is your signature." Mr. Raeburn Stated simply and the ambassador grudgingly signed the form then picked it up, and was about to put it into his suitcase when Mr. Raeburn spoke up.

"I want a copy of that." he spoke in a commanding, but soft tone, as he pulled out another form from seemingly nowhere, and handed it to the ambassador. The ambassador looked like he was going to hit Mr. Rea-, wait, admiral Raeburn, and I was going to get up and stop him when he let out an irritated sigh, and took the papers. Admiral Raeburn looked like he had almost had it with the ambassador. A slight glare and frown replaced his calm demeanor.

The ambassador finished signing the papers then handed them to admiral Raeburn, and it looked like the ambassador was about to leave. I was about to get up and follow him when Admiral Rands called out again.

"Not going to finish your drink? How rude." he told him, and I realized I hadn't even touched mine. The ambassador spun on his heel and glared at admiral Rands.

"Why would I finish my drink when I haven't even touched it?" the ambassador asked and Admiral Rands smirked.

"Because if anyone else offered you a drink you would finish it, hell, last time you were here you finished your drink." he explained, and the ambassador grumbled something, but sat back down and started to drink his drink. I followed suit, not wanting to be rude. At first, I thought that admiral Raeburn would be returning with us, but he still had civilian clothes on, and looked like he wasn't in any way ready to leave yet.

"W-will you be coming to the naval base with us, sir?" I asked him timidly, and he smiled warmly at me, something that surprised me with his earlier behavior.

"No, miss Yamato, I don't think our ambassador friend here would like that." he told me, and the ambassador sent him a glare. "Also, I have a few…" he sent a sidelong glance at the ambassador. "things to take care of here." the ambassador rolled his eyes.

"Your imaginary vaults. There's nothing to support they exist." the ambassador told admiral Raeburn, and Admiral Raeburn frowned while looking slightly offended.

"They do exist and you're sitting in a building that proves their existence since this building would not exist without them." admiral Raeburn replied, and the ambassador rolled his eyes again.

"You've told me that every time I've come here." the ambassador told him in an exasperated tone, and admiral Raeburn smirked.

"Yes, yes, I have, and I will keep on telling you that until it gets through your thick skull." he replied then looked over at me. "Also, miss Yamato, I will be arriving in three days from now. Marine colonel Terrence Irving should be arriving with his men tomorrow however." he told me switching from arguing with the ambassador to telling me important information quite quickly.

The ambassador set down his now finished drink and I was reminded of my own, that I still barely touched. The ambassador sent me an exasperated look while admiral Raeburn smiled.

"Don't worry miss Yamato you have been quite confused this whole time, so no harm no foul." he told me, and the ambassador glared at admiral Raeburn.

"What? You didn't give me that benefit the first time I was here!" the ambassador told admiral Raeburn and he smiled.

"You weren't a beautiful lady under my command either." he retorted, and my brain froze up. I felt my boilers starting to go into overdrive as I felt my face turn red. Whatever was said next I didn't catch as I tried to get control of my boilers. I was brought back to reality by someone shaking my shoulder. I looked over to see my admiral looking at me with a look that was a mix of amusement and a tinge of worry.

"You, all right?" he asked, and I nodded slowly. "Good! Mr. Grumbly ambassador over there is waiting for you." he gestured toward the hallway where the ambassador was standing.

"Y-yes sir, t-thank you, sir." I told him as I got up and headed out of the room. As we headed out toward the car the ambassador was telling me something, but I was too lost in my own thoughts to hear him. My admiral had praised me! Something that the previous one never did.

POV: Admiral Raeburn.

June 9th, 2027, 0700 hours

I was lost. One hundred percent lost. The ship that should have dropped me off at the naval base decided nope! Let's drop you in the middle of nowhere! I had a suspicion it was the Japanese ambassador, but I had no proof. And so i trudged my way through what was a functioning city, but was now just rubble and abandoned buildings. It had most likely looked beautiful before it was destroyed by the abyssals.

I shook my head and turned it back to my current situation. I knew I was on the west side of the island and the Naval base should be on the east side, in short, I had quite a ways to go. I started to move north around the island, less of a chance I would be noticed by abyssals due to the fact the north side faced japan. I got about halfway around the island to the east side when I spotted something ahead of me. A few moments later I identified it.

It was an abyssal, and it appeared to be a cruiser type, but it didn't assure me much. Abyssals appeared about 7 years ago when ships in shipping lanes started going missing. Sometimes the wrecks were found before they sunk beneath the ocean. Though they all pointed toward the same thing… absolutely nothing. Though months after the first disappearances a lone military destroyer somehow survived an abyssal attack and returned to port.

It reported what attacked them was a humanoid thing that appeared to have shields with cannon mouths that acted like actual naval cannons. At first no one believed them right up until someone summoned a ship girl and got both ship girls and abyssals on video. It was explained that ship girls were ships shrunk down to human size. They were basically living incarnates of ships.

the problem was that Abyssals appeared to fall into the same category as ship girls. When it came to what they were. They were basically corrupted versions of ship girls as far as we could tell. Also they existed in a more spiritual sense than a physical one. So modern radar couldn't pinpoint them unless they wanted to be seen. Ship girls didn't have this issue they could see them just fine, so some theorized they exited on the same plane.

The downside for us was we had to summon ship girls while the Abyssals seemed to be able to make them at any time and send them out. It was also theorized that once we kill one abyssal they cant summon them back aside from the small whale cannon mouth things that don't seem to be based off of any ship. They were basically cannon-fodder. That theory came to light when we didn't see certain Abyssals again after we killed them.

Due to that it was assumed we couldn't resummon any ship girls, and was proven when three battleships, Mutsu, Hiei, and Kirishima, fell in combat and couldn't be resummoned. Additionally certain criteria had to be met in order for a ship to be summoned as a ship girl.

In order for a ship girl to be summoned it had to have had a crew which acted like a ship girls' personality, and whatever happened to that crew while on the ship the ship girl remembered. Along with everything the ship did. Whether that be fighting or otherwise. Initially that caused some panic between the United States and Japan. what if prejudices between United States and Japanese ship girls? How would we deal with them?

Luckily the Japanese ship girls were stunned about what happened, but in the end unsurprised. They actually made it their goal to redeem themselves for whatever atrocities they committed or helped commit during WW2. So far the United States hasn't been able to summon a ship girl, but when we did it would be difficult getting some of the ship girls to work together. That's the assumption anyway. Though back to reality.

I have taken down Abyssal cruisers before, but I didn't want to fight one if I could avoid it. The abyssal however appeared to be looking for something, and I had no doubt it was looking for me. I pulled my mechashift scythe, inspired from RWBY, and made from abyssal steel, from my back shifting it to its scythe form.

I ducked behind a nearby building that was intact enough for me to hide behind. The abyssal was also moving toward where It was allowing me to move around it with the building in between me and it. On the other side of the building I found the abyssal was not alone. Another cruiser stood with its back facing me I hesitated a moment to look around, but I found no other abyssals.

I smiled and quickly advanced on the abyssal with its back facing me. First, I cut both its hands tendons, making its hands practically useless, in two quick motions then I forced it to turn around and cut its throat, I knew better than to attack its chest or head. It had hatred and shock written over its face, but I left it alone as I went for the next cruiser. The cruiser I had just disabled tried to cry out in warning, but all that came out was a wheeze. It was, however, enough to get the other abyssals, who was standing in an alley in between two semi intact buildings, attention.

The abyssal turned and I tried going for the throat again, but my scythe bounced off its throat. I cursed silently, and pulled back. The throat was usually less armored on abyssals, but this one, apparently, had more armor. The abyssal grinned, and drew its sword then began walking towards me. The abyssal that I had disabled was now behind me blocking my escape, from that direction.

I jumped up and started to scale the wall to my left, the side I was behind earlier, using my scythe to propel myself upward. Before the abyssal could swing her sword, I was up and over the wall and into the mostly destroyed two story building. Once I was inside I faced a new problem, how was I getting out. I could jump out and run for it, but I would have to deal with the abyssals shooting at me, and any other friends they have.

On the other hand, I could wait them out, and the base would probably be sending out search parties to find me, if they haven't already. But if I waited I could be dealing with abyssal reinforcements. Luckily the abyssals made that decision easy. I heard them knock down a door down stairs, so I jumped up onto the roof. If they were in the building they couldn't see me running before it's too late, if I use blind spots in the building.

After I was certain they were in the building, I jumped down the east side of the building, where I thought there was a blind spot, and ran as fast as I could. Running this way would put me deeper into the city but it should be a straight shot toward the naval base. I got maybe halfway through the city when I heard a cannon shot ring out and I saw a trail of white streak past me ending at an explosion that occurred at the same time I heard the sound.

I skid to a stop and jumped down an alley way with a look behind my back. I cursed my luck when I did. A Re class along with four other cruisers had shown up, and they were hunting me. I continued running, but I knew I wouldn't be able to outrun the cruisers, so I kept on the lookout for some where I could hold out. None of the buildings looked to be in any state to hold off an abyssal attack, so I started weaving through the city running around like a maniac to confuse the hell out of them.

It worked… for a while. I got to the edge of the city and ran for the forests, but a shot, from what I assumed was the Re class, hit close to my right side sending me flying to the left. I hit the ground and rolled a couple yards before stopping on my back. Luckily, I felt nothing cracked or broken in a quick self-check. Unluckily the abyssals were closing in, and I didn't want to be here anymore.

I jumped to my feet and continued running switching my mechashift to its sniper rifle form, also inspired by RWBY except my rifles a rail gun, and shot at the Re class. I knew I wouldn't do much to a Re class, but it was worth a shot. Luckily it hit the Re in its left eye, unluckily that pissed it off. It fired at me again with all its guns and most hit near me this time, but they also sent me flying into the underbrush of the forest.

This time I felt my ribs crack when I was hit by the shock waves and when I hit the ground. Luck was being helpful and not so helpful right now, but where was I to complain? I pulled myself up to a crouch and started through the underbrush at an even pace, so I didn't make too much noise or movement. I hadn't moved very far when the cruisers opened on where I had landed sending me flying again further into the forest to land face down.

This time, however, I felt one of my ribs break, and more crack. I groaned and looked around my new place in the underbrush, and found I was not alone. A pair of high heel boots were in front of me, and I immediately thought ship girl, because no one else would wear high-heels in combat! My theory was proven correct when I heard four 41CM naval cannons go off right above me and I also wisely kept my head down for two reasons.

One cannon fire with the possibility of my head being blown off, and second ship girls tend to wear skirts, and with how close I was I could probably see what is under said skirt without issue. I did not want to be kicked in the ass for looking up one of their skirts at their panties. From my quite awkward position I could hear the abyssals hiss in rage as they fired back at the ship girl standing over me.

The ship girl was not alone however, and I heard 14-inch guns go off nearby and heard them smack into the abyssals near simultaneously. A few moments later, filled with constant cannon fire, I heard a triumphant cry from my right hopefully signaling the end of the fight. I tried to pull myself up, but immediately regretted it. Pain raced up and down my body and I realized I was a lot more hurt then I thought as I flopped to the ground.

I looked at my right side to find a large piece of shrapnel lodged into my side and by the looks of it, mainly the amount of blood, it had been there for some time, probably since I was in the city. Having a synthetic right arm and left leg did have its rewards, but it did however lessen the amount of blood flowing through my body. And in this situation, it could be fatal if I didn't get help soon. I felt the light-headed ness hit me like a wrecking ball when someone turned me over I heard someone speaking, but I couldn't make out what was being said.

Everything I could see was a haze, but I could make out someone next to me putting pressure on my wound. A moment later I saw someone put their face in front of me while saying something. I was pretty sure it was something like stay with me, but I could feel consciousness slipping away. I tried to stay awake, but only long enough to feel myself being picked up. Then I passed out and saw nothing, but darkness.

TIME SKIP

I felt myself wake up what felt like quite some time later, but couldn't really be sure. I turned my head and looked around. Everything was much clearer than before, and I was laying on a hospital bed in what I assumed was the base's infirmary. I looked down at myself to find I was wearing a hospital gown and a plain white shirt and pants. Not that surprising, but I wondered what happened to my trench coat.

The pain was still present, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it was before. I forced myself up to a sitting position and took another look around. The room was what you would expect from an infirmary white walls, rows of hospital beds lining the walls, and I appeared to be the only one present. Surprisingly next to my bed was my scythe, I need to come up with a good name for the weapon, and I can't call it Crescent Rose copyrights would be all over my ass, with a note on it, along with my cross-body satchel bag.

I slowly reached over and pulled the note off it and read it and laughed a little. 'Don't even think about using this as a god damn cane. - Dr. Taylor Talbot.' was what was written on the note, and I shook my head a little. Me and Dr. Talbot went back a long way. Back to when we were kids. Despite his note I decided to at least try and stand up using my mechashift as a cane.

I shifted it to the point the blade was folded down out of the way and used the handle as a support. It wasn't short enough for a cane, more like a walking stick, but I managed to stand up using it as a support. It hurt like I was hit by a train, I actually have been hit by a train and lived… long story, but I was able to move around a bit. I managed to stagger around a bit, but decided it would be a better idea to sit down before Dr. Talbot got back.

And as soon as I sat down Dr. Talbot walked into the infirmary, and stopped then gave a glare that I was all too familiar with. I sent him a smile and my best innocent look, and he just sighed in annoyance.

"You nearly die from abyssals yesterday, and here you are trying to walk around. I should seriously put restraints on you when you're injured." he told me, and I chuckled then coughed. Dr. Talbot walked over to me and took my mechashift away then placed it next to the wall out of arm's reach. "I also thought that you wouldn't use that for a cane, but apparently I was wrong." he continued while I pulled my legs back onto the bed and laid back in the bed.

"You should know me by now Taylor. I like to push myself." I retorted, and he shook his head while checking my vitals.

"There's a point where pushing yourself becomes stupidity." he returned, and I shrugged while trying to relax and ignore the pain from my ribs. "I'll be back in a little bit with some food, so don't fall asleep or try and do anything else or I will restrain your ass to the bed." Dr. Talbot told me while heading toward the door.

"Right doc." I replied while staying where I was. I knew he was right, but I sometimes ignored it when I knew I wasn't in that bad of shape. This time however I knew I was in bad shape, so I listened. That did however leave me with little to do. Although I did have hyperthymesia, a mental disorder that allowed whoever was affected by it to remember almost everything in their lives, there were some memories I didn't want to go over, so I just went over my designs.

My designs ranged from buildings, ships, weapons, tanks, aircraft, ETC. but as soon as you give me something medical all bets are off. Despite the fact I had studied it multiple times it never stuck even with hyperthymesia. My thoughts however were brought to an abrupt halt, after some time, when I heard a voice from outside the infirmary.

"TEI….TO…. KU!" I heard whoever it was yell in Japanese and the door to the infirmary was slammed open and a ship girl, by the name of Kongou if memory served right, came through the door. She scanned the room with wide eyes until they landed on me then she, quite literally, bounced across the room toward me. To be quite honest it was one of the most entertaining, and mildly terrifying moments of my life, the latter was mainly due to the fact I couldn't really defend myself, so I was completely at this ship girl's mercy, and she looked a little insane with her constant ear to ear smile.

"KONGOU!" I heard Taylor's voice from out of the room followed shortly by the man himself, with tray with food on it, cutting off whatever Kongou was going to say, or do, next. "he's still injured, and I swear to God I will kick your ass if you try to do anything!" he nearly yelled at Kongou and she froze, and her smile wavered a bit. I looked over at Taylor.

"geez doc, even though you probably saved me from something, ease off on the yelling and swear petal." I told him and Kongou's smile went back to its normal level of happiness, as far as I could tell. Doc just sighed in frustration. He meant well, but he seemed fed up with something. I turned back to Kongou. "And that doesn't mean you're off the hook either, doc doesn't yell at people without good reason." I told her, and she just smiled and nodded in response.

"It's okay, Teitoku! I just got excited when I heard you woke up! I want to see of you are a good Teitoku!" she told me while putting her hands, that were balled up into fists, on her hips and thrusting her sizable chest out in a superhero pose. I blinked a few times then looked over at Taylor.

"She always like this? Or…" I left the next question unvoiced due to the nature of it, but I was sure Taylor would catch on. He smiled and had a look that told me I was lucky.

"Yes, she's always like this and it has nothing to do with the previous admiral." he replied, and I let out a sigh of relief. Kongou looked confused as she looked back and forth between us.

"According to the files I was given before coming here there's a lot of fallout from the previous admiral I'm going to need to clean up, and you were near the top of the list I was provided, but that is most likely unique to having a shit admiral, correct?" I asked and Kongou nodded/bounced in place smile wavering slightly. I smiled back causing her to pause a moment.

"Good. there needs to be mutual trust and respect between an admiral and his ship girls. Without that the fleet won't function. The last admiral fell prey to that, and I have no intention of making that mistake as well, but I know I'll make a few mistakes at the beginning. It's like a video game. I'm not going to be instantly perfect. I'm going to need to poke around and see what works. I need to start clearing out the fallout, and getting this base back into proper working order, and to do that I need to know where I can start.

"That's where you come in Kongou. Your one of the oldest ships here in this base and I know from that all the ships here trust you. I need to know where I can poke around and where I can't. I'm trying to light the way forward, and I can't do that if the people under my command won't work with me, so I want someone to help me light the way on the trust and respect path, and I want to know if you're willing to help me carry the torch." I asked Kongou and she stood there with a stunned expression. Her lips were moving, but she couldn't form words.

Doc was smiling in the corner with a look that said, 'excellent speech you magnificent bastard'. I sat looking Kongou in the eyes as she got over her bewilderment. Then suddenly she quite literally flew across the space in between us and crashed into me wrapping me up in a hug that was surprisingly gentle.

"O-of course Teitoku! I-I would be honored to! I-I just wasn't expecting you to be so… direct in being… kind." she told me still hugging me gently. I waved at Taylor before he could say or do anything then returned the hug.

"That's what a good admiral does Kongou. Anything less is unacceptable in my opinion." I told Kongou and she nodded the pulled back from the hug. When I got a look at her face she did look a little ashamed and I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry I doubted you… Teitoku... "she told me while looking down and I smiled.

"Understandable considering what has occurred at this base. Of course, you may want to get off me before Doc has an aneurysm." I told Kongou, and doc suddenly appeared next to us giving Kongou and me a very disgruntled look. Kongou took the hints and got off me and watched me eat silently when I was given food by Taylor that had been sitting on another bed Nearby.

"You don't have to stand there Kongou, but as long as you are I have a request for you and the rest of the administration staff." I told Kongou and she turned her head a bit in curiosity.

"yes Teitoku?" she asked in return while I picked up another slice of a cheese quesadilla.

"could you get all of the dossiers of all the Kasumasu in the base please? I'd like to know who I'll be working with." I asked Kongou and she smiled brightly.

"Yes, I can Teitoku! I'll get started on that right away!" she told me and sprinted across the room and left the room. "BURNING LOVE!" she yelled as she went down the hallway. I looked over at Taylor and he was rubbing his temples. I think Kongou got on his nerves quite often. I looked around and realized I had not seen colonel yet. Although he was probably waiting for me to show up in his office in the next few days as was my usual after getting injured.

"well Tristram I'll leave so you can get some rest, but if I come in here and see you using that damn scythe as a cane I will strap your ass to the hospital bed." Taylor told me, his tone leaving little room for argument, and I shrugged. He sighed then left the room. I finished what little food I had then laid back in the bed. I knew I needed to get sleep, but it bothered me that I couldn't even get to my office today.

I would probably get to it tomorrow much to Dr. Talbot's annoyance, but at that point I really wouldn't care. I always had to be doing something, and I couldn't do something here. I closed my eyes and repressed the inevitable memories that would come up when I was alone, or without something to do.

POV: Nagato.

June 11th, 2027, 0800 hours

I stood behind the admiral's desk pulling out dossier from nearby filing cabinets. The whole task was quite annoying, but I apricated and respected the new admiral's efforts to connect with the ship-girls. Judging from Kongou's description of the man and his orders so far, he appeared to be getting off on a much better leg than the previous admiral. It didn't say much however. I was pretty sure anything would be better than the previous admiral.

The new admiral had actually surprised and impressed me when I first saw him two days ago running from the abyssals. Well, he was more thrown to the side by an explosion when I did see him. He managed to fire a round from his comically oversized sniper rifle that hurt a Re class battleship. Although it only hit its eye, an obvious weak point, he still did it. The other admiral would never, ever, imagine going out and fighting, but this one did.

Its not like that meant much however. He could easily turn out to be just as bad as the previous admiral, but It was hard to go up against Kongou's constant praise of the man however, something about 'he wanted me to help carry the torch!' I would have to ask the man himself when I get around to going to the medical station.

"I'm fine doc. Stop getting on my case." A voice came from outside the office that I didn't recognize jarring me from my thoughts.

"you are not fine. Your leaning quite heavily on your scythe." I heard Doctor Talbot reply to whoever it was… wait… scythe?

"we're almost there anyway so stow it doc. I know what I can't and can do." The voice replied then the door open revealing… the new admiral somehow on his feet despite having lost quite a lot of blood and several broken ribs, and cracked ribs. The man was leaning, quite heavily, on a massive scythe. He was still in a hospital gown with a white shirt and pants under it and had bandages covering his left arm and a glove over his right hand and arm.

"sir!" I snapped to attention nearly dropping the dossier I was holding. The man looked at me then blinked once.

"at ease." He told me returning the salute. "battleship Nagato I assume?" he asked as I dropped back to my normal stance.

"yes, sir." I replied, and he nodded then looked around. Then he seemed to remember something and looked at me again.

"first off, am I in uniform?" her asked and I blinked a few times. What was he getting at?

"no, sir." I replied feeling rather confused, but decided to let him say what he was going to say instead on interjecting.

"then you don't need to salute me. When I'm in uniform, yes you need to salute me, but beyond that its our choice." He told me, and I stood there stunned for a moment. He wasn't requiring us to salute him 24/7? It threw me off guard quite a bit. "nonetheless how's my base doing?" he asked, and I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't in some weird dream.

"Its functioning, sir. But it would be nice to have you in here. I'm just a secretary ship, not an admiral." I told him, and he scoffed.

"bullshit. You've been keeping this base intact ever sense the last admiral got kicked out. You probably know more than I do." He told me, and I froze in shock. He… he was complementing me? Saying I was better than he was? I waited for him to say he was kidding, but it never came.

"I guess so, sir." I replied slowly still fearing him to say he was kidding. Doctor Talbot looked at me then to the new admiral then back again.

"damn Tristram. You fluster Nagato on your first day. Congratulations, and well done." Doctor Talbot told the new admiral who apparently was named Tristram. I honestly never bothered to look at his file. I just expected him to be another terrible admiral. It seems I have been proven wrong. Quite wrong. "and you've seen your office now come on back to the infirmary." Dr. Talbot told the admiral and he sighed then turned around

"all right, all right you win. We'll head back to the infirmary. Oh!" the admiral spun on his heel back toward me.

"I'd like to have a few of those dossiers today. Its getting fucking boring sitting around doing nothing." The admiral told me, and I saluted him out of reflex.

"Hai, sir!" I replied, and the admiral returned it then turned around and left. Before he did however I noticed a strange look on Dr. Talbot's face. It almost looked like… regret about something. Before I could really see what it was, however, they both left, and I was left there stunned. I suddenly didn't know what to think about this admiral.

He was appeared to be doing a much better job than the previous one, and I was distinctly relived because of that. This base needed a good admiral, and for far to long it had been denied it, but now it seemed… we had a good admiral.

POV: Tristram Raeburn

June 12th, 2027, 0900

One day after I went to my office for the first time I could move easier, and, much to Dr. Talbots annoyance, was going to pay Colonel Terrence Irving a visit. He was no doubt waiting for me to show up like I normally did after I was injured in any sort of fashion, including the time I was hit by a train. This time, however, instead of just wearing a hospital gown, and plain clothes I managed to get into my actual uniform. There's something about the uniform that forces you to have your back straight, and that helped me get around more.

As I moved through the halls I passed a few ship girls, and I returned their salutes they gave me, and, if I knew them from their dossiers, said hello to them by their name. that flustered and confused quite a few of them as I went around. Other than Kaga, but there was a flash of surprise in her eyes. After walking for what felt like quite some time I arrived at the Colonels office, and knocked on the door.

"Enter!" the Colonel responded, and I opened the door to find quite the sight. The top of the Irving's desk was buried under piles of paperwork. No doubt my desk will start to look similar soon enough. I walked up to Irving's desk with a smile on my face.

"this seems oddly familiar." I started, and the Colonel looked up from whatever paperwork he was working on with a slightly agitated expression. Which quickly turned into a half smile. Now that I could see the man's face I noticed he hadn't changed at all from the last time I saw him, aside from a little bit of facial hair. He had green eyes, with short brown hair, and tan skin.

"goddamn it Admiral. Didn't the doc tell you stay in bed?" he asked, and I grinned.

"stay? In bed? What is this thing you speak of?" I asked in return, and Irving shook his head with a light laugh.

"well at least you didn't get hit by a train this time. Anyway, how have you been besides nearly getting killed by an abyssal?" Irving asked, and I grimaced.

"could be much better considering the sheer amount of fallout from the previous admiral I have to clean up, but well enough." I replied glancing back at the door of Irving's office, and realized Irving was too. I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow and he sent me an incredulous look.

"we're both waiting for the doc to get here, and you know that." He told me, and I smiled then the door slammed open and Dr. Talbot appeared.

"Tristram! You still have 6 broken ribs, and probably are still missing a quarter of your blood, so why the hell are you walking around!" Dr. Talbot almost yelled at me then Déjà vu kicked in from having to deal with this whenever I was this seriously injured. I understood why he was mad. The man technically did raise me, and therefore took it as his job ensure I didn't get myself killed or harmed really, but I did make that extremely difficult, and did feel bad… sometimes.

"called it." Colonel Irving remarked and leaned back into his chair. I smirked a little with a glance in Irving's direction.

"relax doc. How many times do I have to tell you I'm fine?" I asked, and Dr. Talbot glared at me.

"your definition of fine and the actual definition are two very different things." Dr. Talbot remarked, and I smiled.

"seriously relax. Matter of factly I was partly coming here to get you, because, I think I'm well enough to sleep in my own bed tonight." I told Dr. Talbot, and he stood there a moment thinking. Colonel Irving shook his head before returning to his paper work. I stood still waiting for an answer.

"all right, all right there's no way I'm going to get you to stay in the infirmary anymore, so I'll let you sleep in your quarters." He relented then a slight smirk appeared on his lips. "do you even know where they are?" he asked then it was my turn to smile.

"yes, I do. I saw the door and plaque showing where it was in my office, considering the fact its connected to my office I should have seen it." I replied, and colonel Irving looked up from his paperwork.

"talking together is nice and all, but I've got paper work to do." He told us, and I smiled. The colonel meant well, but at the same time I could see his point. After the colonel's comment we left his office and headed to my office. Within Nagato was still collecting Dossiers with her back turned to the door. It looked like she was almost done, but still had a ways to go.

"Nagato! The dossiers can just be left on my desk. They won't have to be transported to the infirmary anymore." I tell her, and she jumped slightly and turned around. She looked a little stunned that I was there but snapped out of it and saluted me after a moment.

"Hai, sir!" she replied, and I returned her salute. After that I walked over to the side door in the room and entered the side room. Within was a plain bedroom that you would find in a 5-star hotel. It looked nice but was altogether plain. I would have to change that.

"you can make a plan for the god damn room later. To bed with you!" Dr. Talbot told me, and I put my hands up in defeat.

"all right, all right! I'm moving! Jeez doc take it easy." I replied, and Dr. Talbot just harrumphed then closed the door. I sighed then got ready to go to bed even though I had practically just got up. I was hoping that tomorrow I would actually begin my job as an admiral.

TIME SKIP

The next morning, I woke up early and decided to start getting work done. After I got dressed in my uniform I stepped out of my room and into my office. The office was bland with nothing on the walls at all, but that's exactly how I liked it. It made it easier to work on weapons designs when I wanted to work on them or had the time to now that I was an admiral.

I started by going through the dossiers to see who would be under my command. I thanked whatever god there was that I had hyperthymesia, allows me to remember everything I see, hear, taste, smell and feel, which made going through these very easy. The thing that got my nerves was how many of the ship-girls, as in all of them, that were affected in some capacity by the former admiral. My job was getting considerably harder by the second.

"where to start…" I muttered as I looked through Naka's dossier. She had been restricted from singing or playing music on the base and had the bandwidth to her computer shrunk down to keep her from doing live-streams. I shook my head. How may places had the last guy fucked up?

"I think this whole place needs a restoration." I muttered again as I read through information on the status of living quarters to find it deplorable at best. My slow, but steady reading through the massive pile of problems the last admiral left behind were interrupted by a knock on my door.

"Enter!" I told whoever it was to find Nagato, and three other ship-girls. Light cruiser Ooyodo, repair ship Akashi, and food supply ship mamiya if memory served me right. I set the report down on my desk and gave the four my full attention. "what did you need?" I asked them and the other three ships glanced at Nagato.

"Ooyodo and Akashi have full reports on the base that include all equipment and resources. Dr. Talbot told us it would be a good idea to get you them, and Mamiya has a request." Nagato informed me and I nodded while noticing how timid, almost scared, the other three girls, excluding Nagato, were acting. I also made a quick note to thank Taylor later.

"well then." I started while gathering all the reports and dossiers I had on my desk and setting them aside for the moment. "why don't you start with Ooyodo." I nodded toward her and she hesitantly stepped forward.

"Hai, sir." She started then set a few papers and a thumb drive on my desk. "the papers are general supply allocation but may change later depending on what takes priority in research and development, and the repair docks. The thumb drive shows our current stockpile of resources." She quickly informed me in a clean and crisp manner betraying her previous hesitant demeanor.

"thank you. I'll have a look through these and get them back to you then." I replied taking a quick glance at the papers. Ooyodo seemed slightly stunned by my actions, and so did Nagato. I'll have to ask later. "Akashi, your report." I looked over at her and she seemed to be just as stunned.

"well-well sir I have some current-current reports on the Arsenal and the research and development department." She told me and set a much larger pile of papers on my desk. It seems she took to using paper more than Ooyodo. Or she hadn't figured out spreadsheets yet.

"before I get into these, and probably get really frustrated. Onto you mamiya." I told them, and Ooyodo raised an eyebrow along with Akashi. Nagato seemed to be similar fazed, but also seemed to be expecting this. Dr. Talbot probably gave her a few hints.

"why would you get frustrated with them, sir?" Ooyodo asked me and I smiled.

"number one I am an engineer. Number two I'm also a Weapons Development Officer. Number three seeing how the previous admiral had his hand in almost everything." I gesture toward the pile of dossiers and reports that I had set aside. "I don't think it would be that far fetched to assume he had his hand in the R&D department, correct?" I asked her, and it seemed to start to dawn on her.

"yes sir." She replied simply while Akashi still looked confused, and Mamiya looked slightly panicked.

"so before I start going through this and fixing his mistakes for the next four or five hours I'll take Mamiya's request first." I finished explaining my reasoning and Akashi made an 'oh' noise while nodding. Then grinning. "So, Mamiya. Your request?" I asked her, and she seemed like she didn't want to be standing there anymore.

"well-well sir, I-I wanted to know if I could maybe get more space and-and personnel for my-my café, sir." She asked me, and I looked over the pile of set aside reports. Wasn't there something mentioning that her café had been reduced in size because the ship-girls liked to go there more than the mess hall?

"well Mamiya. I can guarantee that your café will be restored back to its original state. Maybe even improve on it a bit. However, that may not happen for a while." I started, and Mamiya was almost bouncing off the walls until my last statement. "Sadly, there are other more pressing matters that I need to address first. Such as getting the doritories up and running, and the R&D department. As much has I don't like to say it we need a functioning base before we can add things like a Café.

"but, I will see to it that your café is restored. Mark my words on this." I tell her, and she nods. "alright is there anything else?" I asked them, and they shook their heads. "all right! Dismissed." I tell them, and they start funneling out through the door. "Nagato! Stay a moment please." I called out before she left. I could see the other three hesitate outside the door before she walked up to my desk and stood at attention.

"yes admiral?" she asked me, and I let out a sigh before answering.

"I'd like you to set up a tour of the base later on this evening. The whole base. I want to see how it's doing with my own eyes. Excluding individual living quarter of course. I don't want to intrude on my people privacy, but I still need a general idea. Can you do that for me?" I asked, and she stood their blinking for a few moments. Apparently, this wasn't what she expected at all.

"of course, sir. But why?" she asked in return almost hesitantly. This wasn't her usual demeanor. She wasn't used to asking questions of superiors, and her eyes widened when she realized she did. She was about to apologize when I put up my hand.

"it's fine Nagato. In small things like this I encourage questions. It makes both you and I think about our decisions. Now on to the why. Its simple I can get an idea of the bases state from a report, but I can't see it with my own eyes. Besides there may be some issues I can't see in a report that I can see with own eyes looking at the base." I explain, and she nodded still wrapping her head around what I said.

"yes-yes sir. I can do that." She told me, and I smiled.

"all right. Let me know when the tour is in maybe a few hours. Otherwise dismissed." I replied, and she snapped a salute that I returned. When she left the room a memory I had been repressing appeared at the fore front of my mind, and I flinched slightly. A memory of someone who looked almost identical to Nagato with the exception of short brown hair, and bright golden eyes behind frozen glass.


	2. Chapter 2

Kantai Collection: New Admiral.

Chapter 2

POV: Tristram Raeburn.

After spending 5 hours going through the R&D departments report and fixing a shit ton of things in said report, I had a look at the General materials spreadsheet that Ooyodo gave me. When I started on that I heard a knock on my door.

"Enter!" I called out while looking at a monster of a spreadsheet that came out of the thumb drive. The door opened revealing Kongou who practically skipped up to my desk. With a massive smile on her face.

"Admiral~! The tour is ready!" she informed me and somehow my mind went to picturing her as a minor Yandere with that vocal tic. I pushed that from my mind and looked at the spreadsheet then back at Kongou and back again. Then I just stood up.

"I'll deal with this monster of a spreadsheet later. Lead on!" I told Kongou, muttering the first part, and her smile seemed to grow exponentially. I followed her out of my office and a short tour of the main office building of the base ensued. Which included the CIC, Combat Information Center, and a sick bay. I think doc convinced someone to turn a room into a sick bay. Anyway, the rest of the tour went on, and I took notes on a few things.

Such as the inadequate sleeping quarters for all classes of ships, and the ridiculous rules that were posted on the walls here and there. Like no singing, no playing musical instruments, no large gathering unapproved by administration staff among other rules. I made a note to revise these rules as soon as possible. We also passed by Mamiya's café, and I noticed a small picture frame displayed proudly next to the front counter.

'I will see to it that your café is restored, mark my words on this. – Admiral Tristram Raeburn.' Was written in the picture frame. At least I had a constant reminder now. Though the last section the tour covered got my attention the most, after I was pulled way from and R&D section by Colonel Irving. The last section that was covered was the repair docks. All was going well with Akashi as my tour guide, and Kongou along with Nagato following us, right up until the last part of the repair docks.

Akashi was hesitant to show me the last part. She was almost a nervous wreck just looking at the door to the last section. The door was a steel double door with heavy bars in front of it acting as its locks. Something told me the locks were in place to keep the ship-girls out of whatever it was. I knew it wouldn't work on battleships, but it would work on destroyers, and light cruisers. Nagato was going to say something to help Akashi, but I held up a hand.

I walked up to the door and lifted the bar out of the lock then opened the door. The smell hit me immediately. A smell I'm all too familiar with. Blood. A lot of blood. I walked into the section and did my best to keep my temper in check. Two tables were in the middle of the room with a light above each one. With dried blood on both tables. Off to the side of the room were barrels full of something that smelt like blood. I quick glance at an open barrel revealed it to be clothes. Clothes I saw some of the ship-girls wearing. Particularly light cruisers, destroyers, and some heavy cruisers.

"this is a scrapping section… isn't it." I asked, but it was more a statement than a question.

"yes-yes, sir. It-it is." Akashi replied barely. I grit my teeth as I took another look around. I spun around on my heel toward after having my fill of the room.

"Kongou! get Colonel Irving to my office! Nagato get whoever the hell runs this freak show of a section to my office as well!" I told them looking at each of them in turn as I gave my orders.

"Hai sir!" both of them replied at once and went to carry out their orders. I finally turned toward Akashi

"get everyone out of this section then put it on lockdown. No one gets in. no exceptions until I say otherwise. If people resist go grab a couple of marines or MPs to force them out." I told her, and she looked up at me with a stunned, confused, and slightly grateful expression was torn between the three emotions.

"yes, sir… I think?" she replied, and I sent her a small smile.

"your doing just fine. Just keep up the good work." I told her before I turned and started heading toward my office. I arrived at my office to find Colonel Irving already there along with Kongou.

"Admiral, sir! What's the trouble?" he asked when I entered the room. I strode over to my desk and started shifting through paperwork before I answered.

"there's a scrapping section in the repair docks. I want it gone. Along with a few othering things, but that will be discussed later in private." I told him and he scowled.

"when do you want it gone? My Combat engineers are more than happy to make it gone." Colonel Irving informed me and I grimaced slightly.

"that will depend on what the next person that will be arriving soon says. I'm aiming for tomorrow morning, but something is telling me it will probably be pushed back to tomorrow evening. If not later." I told him, and he grimaced as well. before Colonel Irving could ask why the door opened and Nagato led a shorter man dressed in a unkept white lab coat, a black shirt, and pants into the room. The man was Dr. Adam Cole or the person who ran the scrapping section according to the file I had just found.

"Dr. Cole nice of you to join us. I have some new orders for you." I told him while fishing out a piece of paperwork from the stack of it on my desk. The paper was a demolition order form. I got the feeling I would need to get rid of a building or two from the base, so I kept one on my desk just in case.

"whatever you need Admiral Raeburn." Dr. Cole replied, and I started filling out the demolition order.

"I want you to get all of your equipment out of your section by 12 PM tomorrow. You have my permission to enter and exit the section due to it being placed on lockdown. You will also have access to Colonel Irving's men to move your equipment. Understood Dr. Cole?" I ordered him, and he stood their almost flabbergasted for a few moments.

"you're-you're getting rid of us?" he asked, and I looked up at him with a blank expression.

"not initially, you will be going to the Japanese Mainland for the remainder of your contract with the base. After that you will have to find someone else to work for." I explained, and he sent me an incredulous look like I was the stupidest person he'd ever seen.

"you're giving us up for a bunch of man-made girls?" he asked me, and I narrowed my eyes with a glare while a frown appeared on my lips.

"I'm going to assume that was a slip of your tongue, Dr. Cole. Get your equipment moved by 1200 hours tomorrow. That is all." I ordered him with a define edge in my tone. The man was visibly flustered before he turned and left. I sighed then looked up at Nagato, and Kongou. "could you two give us some privacy. I need to discuss something with colonel Irving." I told them, and they both Saluted me before leaving. Although Kongou wore a massive smile and Nagato looked pleasantly surprised at what had just happened.

"Colonel I need you to do me a favor." I started, and Irving sent me a neutral expression after the two ship-girls had left.

"what do you need?" he replied simply, and I leaned back in my chair.

"there are several barrels in the scrapping section that I suspect are full of clothes belonging to all of the ships that were scrapped. How he resummoned them, however I don't know. But I want you to burn the clothes and bury them at a local cemetery. It's the least we can do to give them the respect they deserve." I told Irving and he grimaced.

"we'll give them Priority then… how many do you think there are? That were scrapped I mean." Irving asked me and I put my face in my hands and started throwing a WAG, Wild Ass Guess, together.

"one hundred at least most likely more. Much more." I gave him my low-ball estimate. He frowned at that. He knew I was giving him a Low-ball estimate but decided not to push for a more accurate number.

"right. I'll go get my people working on that. Though what should we do about Dr. Cole if he becomes a problem with moving the barrels?" he asked me before he left and I grunted then looked up with an agitated expression on my face.

"tell him it's the admirals orders, and any complaints should be brought to my attention. In all honesty I don't give a damn what he says about that just get it done. Also keep an eye out for however the previous admiral brought the ship girls he had scrapped back." I replied, and Colonel Irving frowned.

"I'll have my marines search the building as soon as possible and report to you when we're done." He saluted me before heading toward the door. Hopefully Dr. Cole wouldn't learn the hard way why you shouldn't impede Marines that are on a mission. It was rather concerning how the man brought ships that he scrapped back into their original summoned forms. Though before Colonel Irving opened the door, and I was able to continue my train of thought there was the distinct sound of people quickly moving out of the way. I face palmed.

"so much for keeping this on the down-low. I really didn't want to remind them of who they've lost there.'' I told Colonel Irving, and he grunted in agreement.

"want me to send them in?" Colonel Irving asked with a little bit of hesitation and agitation.

"as much as I don't want to… yes send them in." I told Irving, but muttered the first part, and I could feel some of the ship-girls on the other side of the door paling. Irving wordlessly opened the door and gestured for the ship-girls outside the door to enter. Aoba, Naka, Fubuki, Kongou, Haruna, and Nagato stepped through the door. They stood in a line in front of my desk and I sighed then looked up at the six girls.

"Okay… first of all Nagato, Kongou? I told you to give me and Irving some privacy. One would think you'd keep the other girls from listening in, and not start doing it yourself." I started, and Nagato looked down in embarrassment and shame. Kongou looked down as well, and her usual smile had severely diminished from its usual luster.

"the main issue is that I may have to talk to people about classified topics in this room in the future. I need to know that none of you will listen in. considering the fact it could get you killed. Hopefully I will never have to talk about Classified information in this room at all. However, if I do I need to know that you two." I point at Nagato and Kongou. "Will keep people from eavesdropping. I really don't want to place marine guards at my offices door when that door should be open to the fleet… Understood?" I finished with my small bout of chastising.

"Yes, sir!" they both saluted me, which I returned, and then I turned my attention to the other four girls.

"you four shouldn't have been eavesdropping in the first place. I'll be lenient this time, but I'll have you do some absolutely boring and pointless work if you do this again. Understood?" I told them with my expression giving no indication of what I was thinking.

"yes, sir!" they replied as well with salutes that I returned as well.

"now onto what me and the Colonel were talking about earlier. I previously wanted to keep it under wraps, but now that the cats out of the bag. I think I should tell the base what's in those barrels, but I honestly have idea of how to do so without causing a major backlash of some kind. So I'm open for suggestions." I told them and the four other girls that I'd never met before sent each other slightly stunned looks, before turning their attention to the problem at hand.

"I would suggest treating the burning of those clothes like an actual burial ceremony and give them all proper last rites." Kongou piped up and I raised both of my eyebrows.

"all right. I think we can do that. Although…" I glance over at the mountain of paperwork that was sitting on my desk. "I'm a little tied up here. do you think you can pull something together the day after tomorrow Kongou? And remember to inform Colonel Irving of what you end up doing." I asked her and she adopted an inquisitive expression complete with a finger on her chin. Before having a wide smile break out onto her face.

"of course, I can Teitoku! Consider it done!" she replied striking a super-hero pose with her sizable chest thrust out and hands on her hips. There was also an under lying 'anything for you' under all that which my mind picked up and sent an involuntary shiver down my spine.

"all right. Your dismissed. Except for Aoba, and Naka." I told them as I set the demolitions order in my rather small 'done' pile. I glanced up to see both aforementioned ships sent nervous looks at Nagato who simply gave a small nod. Before standing next to the door as Kongou and her sister left.

"y-yes sir?" Naka asked me trying to keep her bubbly Idol look from falling from her face. Aoba was clearly wincing slightly as if she was expecting to be chewed out immediately.

"its my understanding that you are the 'Idol of the fleet' and had a sizable YouTube channel going. before the previous admiral had it taken down and your bandwidth decreased correct?" I asked Naka, and she grimaced.

"yes, sir! I did! I was so sad when it was taken down." she informed me and I nodded then started looking through the monster of paperwork on my desk for the paperwork that would increase her bandwidth again. Before promptly giving up. apparently, paperwork can even best Hyperthymesia.

"well whenever I can find the damn paperwork for it, your bandwidth will be increased to normal. Also restart your YouTube channel whenever you'd like. If anyone complains or causes you trouble on that issue send them to me." I told her and her face practically exploded into a massive smile.

"you-you really mean it admiral!" she practically shrieked and I winced.

"Volume, Naka, but yes I do mean it. also consider the restriction on singing and playing musical instruments removed. I really don't understand why they were there in the first place." I told her, and Aoba's jaw was on the floor while Naka was jumping around with a cheery smile on her face.

"yes, yes, yes! Naka the Idol of the fleet is back in action!" she cheered, and I smiled a little bit.

"that's all I needed to tell you Naka. You're free to go." I told her, and she gave a salute that I returned aside from closing one eye. She quickly left, and I turned my attention to Aoba. "Aoba. If I remember correctly you had a newspaper running here in the base, correct?" I asked her, and she did her best to remain straight-faced, but had a hopeful glint in her eyes.

"Yes, sir." She replied, and I looked at the paperwork before I shrugged.

"welp. I'll find it eventually but consider the ban on your newspaper removed. I'll get someone out there to open up your printing shop eventually, but until then I think you can figure out the internet." I told her, and she smiled. A big toothy smile.

"YES! Thank you, sir! I'll make sure you don't regret this!" she told me, and I smiled a little bit in return.

"as long as you print the truth I'll have no problem with it. you start printing obvious lies, and what not, I'll find it, and you can say goodbye to your newspaper if you do. I don't want my people misinformed." I informed Aoba, and she saluted me with a massive giddy smile on her face.

"Don't worry, sir! I won't waste this!" she told me with a salute while shaking in place. She really did love her newspaper.

"I have no doubt you won't Aoba, Dismissed." I finished, and she quickly left the room. I sighed and slump back into my chair. A lot had happened in the few days I had taken over as this base's commander. Almost to much, but nothing I couldn't handle… so far. After the small reprieve I started working on paperwork again.


	3. Chapter 3

Kantai Collection: New Admiral.

Chapter: 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Kantai Collection

Outside the scrapping section of the docs stood a crowd of ship-girls as they all tried to get a view of the stand off in front of the scrapping sections doors. Colonel Irving stood in front of Dr. Cole with a two whole platoons of Combat engineers behind him. A short yelling match had occurred before Colonel Irving sent for Admiral Raeburn. Thirty minutes after the encounter began Admiral Raeburn was seen walking toward the scrapping section. He wore a full military uniform, but one that was more suited for combat compared to a dress uniform including a trench coat.

Despite his intimidating height, and combat boots he wore, he walked without a sound. His long strides carried him quite a long distance in a short amount of time. Surprisingly he walked around the assembled ship-girls right before they allowed him to pass through their group. As soon as he got to the two men he turned to Colonel Irving.

"Colonel Irving. What's the trouble." he asked, but the questions sounded more like a statement. Like he knew what was going on, but just need the formality of Colonel telling him what was going on. If there had been any talking in the crowd of ship-girls it died as soon as the admiral spoke. Some even instinctually went to attention from the pure authority rolling off the man.

"Sir. Dr. Cole doesn't have his equipment moved out, and it is 1200 hours." Colonel Irving informed me and Admiral Raeburn turned to Dr. Cole.

"Why is this not done doctor?" Admiral Raeburn asked causing confused murmurs through the crowd of ship-girls.

"Because _sir_ you're making a mistake by getting rid of us! You need some way to keep them in line! After all their just man-made girls. Summoned to follow orders nothing more!" Dr. Cole insistently gave his argument. Initially the only reaction from the Admiral was a disapproving frown.

"I was hoping Dr. Cole that a reprimand would be enough to get you moving. Apparently not. I've given you ample time and resources to get your equipment out of this building. You have 6 hours. Get your equipment moved to one of the storage warehouses. If any of it is still in the building at that point it will be considered a part of the building and destroyed with it. As I stated before you will have Colonel Irving's men to help you. After your done report to my office without delay. Understood?" the Admiral spoke in an ice-cold voice sending chills down the spines of all the people in earshot. Human or ship-girl.

"But sir yo-" Dr. attempted argue more, but suddenly there was a sound of mechanical parts shifting. Then there was a giant scythe around Dr. Cole's neck.

"Dr. Cole I have tolerated arguments for quite a while. If you have a valid argument I wouldn't mind, but if you are just whining and complaining. I do mind. You now have five hours. Don't make me repeat myself." Admiral Raeburn told the man as his cold emotionless eyes bored into Dr. Coles. Dr. Cole nodded stiffly. Admiral Raeburn lifted the scythe up over Dr. Coles head before pulling something on the grip causing the scythe to collapse down into its storage form. Admiral Raeburn then slipped it back under his coat.

"Damn..." someone from the crowd of ship-girls muttered, and the admiral smirked then turned back to Colonel Irving.

"Anything else?" the admiral asked with a tinge of mirth in his voice. Yet again surprising the ship-girls gathered around the confrontation which had seemed to have grown quite a bit. Along with Aboa writing in a notebook so fast smoke was rising from the pages with a camera around her neck.

"Nothing I know of, sir." Colonel Irving replied with restrained mirth.

"Good. I'll be in my office." the Admiral told the colonel then walked toward the administrative building. Leaving a crowd of shocked ship-girls and a shell-shocked doctor.

Five Hours Later.

POV: Admiral Tristram Raeburn

After getting some paperwork done, I went down to the scrapping section to find the combat engineers already wiring the building with explosives. There were also some of the combat engineers up on the roof setting up some fireworks with some of the ship-girls. I made a mental note of that before heading out to find Colonel Irving. Irving was off to the side of the building with Doctor Cole who had a sour look on his face.

"Colonel Irving, Doctor Cole. what's going on." I stated more than asked and the two of them turned to look at me.

"Sir, we just finished moving Dr. Cole's equipment into a storage warehouse on the far East side of the base. Dr. Cole here was asking what would happen to his equipment now." Colonel Irving told me and I nodded.

"Understood… Dr. Cole reviewing some of your files I found that it was rather… lackluster. Due to your inability to get a simple task done, and spotty records I'll be having you work under Dr. Talbot until the end of your employment with us. Report to Doctor Talbot this evening he will have further details for you. Understood?" I told Dr. Cole and he looked like he wanted to argue, but wisely decided against it.

"Yes, sir" he muttered then quickly moved away from me and Irving.

"Not the nicest person, is he?" Irving asked me and I smirked slightly.

"No, no he is not. Decided to add a little flare to the demolition?" I asked Irving and he smiled. Turning to look at me. After watching Dr. Cole depart.

"Yeah. decided to give a little color getting rid of a stain. Besides when I brought up the idea to the crowd of ship-girls earlier they were all over it. Some even started running around looking for fireworks and turned up some. I wasn't going to question where they got them from." Irving told me and I nodded in reply. While looking down slightly. I wonder what she's doing right now…

"Thinking about Marcella, right?" Irving asked me and I smiled slightly.

"Yea, she's going to be visiting tomorrow. Still deciding what I should read to her." I thought out loud to Irving and he laughed while patting me on the shoulder.

"You'll think of something. I'd consider inviting some of the destroyers. They seemed pretty frightened of you, but it's just a suggestion." Irving told me and I nodded again my smile diminishing a bit. "Just a suggestion, sir. Good luck." he finished when he saw my face and turned back to his work.

"I'll keep that in mind…" I muttered as Irving walked away. I stood there thinking for a few moments before returning to my office. Maybe to go through my boxes for a book to read to my little sister.

I didn't notice a Purple haired light cruiser on top of the building that had overheard our entire conversation.

Later than evening I was in my office shifting through my boxes trying to find something to read to Marcella when she gets here tomorrow when there was a knock at my door.

"Enter!" I called out absentmindedly as I pulled another set of books out of a box. I heard the door open, but it was silent for a few moments causing me to turn around. At the door was a purple haired ship-girl that was attempting to herd a group of kids, teenagers at the oldest, through the door.

"Your names is Tenryuu, correct?" I asked here causing her and the group of destroyers, at least I assumed they were, to freeze.

"Uh… yes sir! You scared?" she asked attempting to recover from being caught without her 'badass' look on her face. Her dossier was one of the more entertaining ones to read.

"I'm afraid I am not. Is there anything you needed miss Tenryuu?" I asked her with a slight smirk. She stood there for a moment a little confused by my response but recovered quickly. The destroyers were all still standing their stock still staring at me with wide almost terrified eyes.

"Just wanted to ask you a question or… favor, sir." she quickly replied attempting to be reassuring to the four destroyers in front of her.

"Ah." I quickly set the books I was holding down on my desk where it wasn't covered in paperwork and turned back to them. "What do you need miss Tenryuu." I asked her, giving her my full attention. This seemed to surprise her and her group of destroyers.

"Well sir I um… kind of overheard your discussion with the colonel and thought it was a good idea… sir." she told me, and I nodded mulling it over in my head. I had given the idea more thought and it was a good idea to help break the terrifying admiral sigma that hung over the base. While I thought it over my generally blank expression didn't really change, and it started to make Tenryuu fidget. Her cadre of destroyers had already relocated themselves to hide behind her while still looking at me.

"I do agree it is a good idea." I replied then looked over at the stack of books on my desk. "What may change what I chose to read, but still manageable." I continued then looked back at Tenryuu. Who had stopped fidgeting and had a look of relief on her face that she quickly covered up with a 'badass' expression. To be entirely honest it looked more adorable than 'badass' but then again, she wasn't really trying to make it threatening either.

"Thank you, sir! We'll swing by tomorrow! … wait when will your sister be getting here tomorrow?" she asked causing her destroyers to look up at her confused and stunned.

"Around 0900. Give or take a half hour." I informed her with a minor smirk on my face.

"Okay. thank you… again… sir. See you then!" she told me then took off with her destroyers in toe trying salvage her already disintegrating facade of badassery. I simply watched with an amused smirk then went back to shifting through my books. Having the destroyers there would probably change what I read but probably not by much.

My thoughts were brought to a halt when I pulled out another book and I recognized the title. ' _The Elfstones of Shannara_ ' that would work. Fantasy, adventure, with some fighting. Although I may what to start with ' _The Sword of Shannara_ ' first. It is a little slow though… maybe there's an abridged version or I can make one. That would take too long though. I decided to look on amazon for an abridged version and hope same day shipping does its job.


	4. Chapter 4

Kantai Collection: New Admiral

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

POV: Tristram Raeburn

I stood at the main gate of the naval base waiting for Dr. Talbot to return with Marcella from the airport. My other sisters were going to spend their time in the city and not come to the naval base. Aside from my littlest sister Marcella and my oldest sister Samantha I didn't get along well with my sisters or mother. My father… well most of my sisters and my mother blamed me for his death.

Samantha understood what happened and didn't hate me for it. Unfortunately it cost her. She was forced out of the house in Utah after my mother got tired of trying to convince her otherwise luckily she was old enough to keep going on her own and already had her own restaurant going in Salt Lake City. Marcella however is not old enough to support herself being only nine years old she had to live with our mother and sisters.

I always dreaded what would happen if my mother and sisters managed to convince Marcella that I was somehow responsible for our fathers death. Fortunately she always stood with me and Samantha whenever she could. I know that always pissed off my mother and sisters, and I always hope it never escalates past just talking to her. With my mother and sisters attempts to change her mind. I don't know if I would be able to hold back from tearing them apart if they did hurt her at all.

I brought out of my internal musings by Dr. Talbot pulling into the base. I was also suddenly aware of the ship-girls that had stopped to watch whatever was going on here. After Dr. Talbot had pulled over and gotten out of the car he opened the back seat on the driver side and a black haired missile streaked out of the car and homed right toward me.

"Big Brother!" she yelled right before she jumped and slammed into me. I lifted her up so she didn't start falling down as she tried to bury herself into my chest.

"Easy there little sis. I'm right here." I told her as I nodded slightly at Dr. Talbot and he just gave me a mock salute and got back into his car. As he drove off I began walking back to my office at a sedated pace to my usual fast walk so Marcella could look around and get a feel for the base. As we walked we got quite a few odd looks from some of the ship-girls who were out and about. Marcella either didn't notice or didn't care as she asked questions and talked to me the entire way while pointing out every new or interesting thing she saw.

I answered them so my explanations would not confuse her to the best of my ability. When we got back to my office I sat at my desk with her on my lap as I started organizing my desk, so I could work on some of the less mentally demanding paperwork. As I worked, she asked me what the paperwork meant, and I told as I worked on it. The paperwork wasn't anything classified or anything similar, so there wasn't any harm in telling her what I was working on.

If anything it was refreshing to have someone here to talk to while doing paperwork. Not that I would admit that openly. I was working on paperwork for a little while before someone knocked on the door to my office. I didn't take my eyes off my paperwork as I answered

"Enter!" I told whomever it was. And the door opened, followed by the sound of people entering my office. I looked up after finishing what I was working on, and saw Tenryuu with her destroyer division. Destroyer division six which comprised of Hibiki, Akatsuki, Inazuma, and Ikazuchi.

"Who's that?" Marcella asked me, and I smirked as Tenryuus expression twitched.

"That's JMSDF Tenryuu." I told Marcella, and she tilted her head.

"But she's a ship how can she be on land?" she asked me while looking up at me from my lap. Tenryuus expression twitched again.

"She's a Kanmusu, Marcella. You do remember what I told you right?" I asked her and she looks back at Tenryuu then back up at me.

"They're not what I expected." Marcella told me and I smiled.

"Dare I ask what you expected?" I asked her and she shrugged. "All right. I assume you're here for the… story, right?" I asked Tenryuu.

"Ahh! Yes sir! Tenryuu reporting with DesDiv 6, sir!" she told me with a salute, and I grinned.

"No need to be so formal Tenryuu. This isn't a military function." I told her and she lowered her hand. She stood there visibly confused as I set the paperwork I was working on in the done pile before standing up while holding Marcella so she didn't fall of my lap. I walked around the front desk before setting her down.

"So where would we like to hear a story?" I asked Marcella and the Destroyers, who awkwardly looked at each other in a silent battle of 'you go first, no you go first!'

"How about in front of the Destroyer dorm!" Marcella exclaimed suddenly causing the destroyers to jump at least a solid foot into the air. Which was quite comical given their small size and how some of their hats almost fell off.

"O-of course, Nanodesu…" one of the Destroyers, Inazuma if memory serves correctly, replied after they collected themselves. I allowed a small smile to spread across my features before I went and retrieved _the Sword of Shannara_ from my desk. After I retrieve it I tucked it into one of my coat pockets and picked up Marcella

"Shall we?" I gestured toward the door and Tenryuu opened it and allowed all of us to shuffle through, and we went on our way to the Destroyer dorms. DesDiv 6 walked in front of me in quiet chatter I couldn't make out while occasionally glancing back at me and Marcella. Tenryuu walked next to me, but stayed silent throughout the short journey. We received several odd looks from the other inhabitants of the base, but went relatively unnoticed.

When we arrived outside the destroyer dorms I picked a bench and set Marcella down. She sat down in front of the bench and waited as patiently as a nine year old can. The Destroyers gathered around, two on either side, and waited with curious eyes. Tenryuu sat behind them trying to look badass, but had a tinge of curiosity in her own eyes.

After they had sat down I pulled out the book and began to read. Unfortunately there was only an abridged audiobook of _the Sword of Shannara_ , but I could skim over the parts that weren't really important. I started reading and took on the storyteller's guise. I quickly had the undivided attention of Marcella, DesDiv 6, and their minder. Several hours later we had attracted a small crowd of ship-girls and marines.

This wasn't the first time I have served with Colonel Irving's marines. Whenever Marcella visited I would always read something to her, and several marines started listening in now and then. I didn't really mind when they did, but I did ask Colonel Irving about it. Me reading to Marcella reminded a lot of them of home, and I was a pretty good storyteller.

I continued reading till 1600 hours when my mother and the rest of my sisters came to pick up Marcella. I found a good stopping place before then. When I wrapped it up I picked up Marcella and went to the front gate of the base. DesDiv 6 stayed behind at the destroyer dorms while Tenryuu tagged along.

When I got to the gate my mother and sisters were already there. We exchanged no words aside from me saying goodbye to Marcella, and my oldest sister saying she would drop by before they flew back to the United States. They quickly left afterward. I stood on the curb watching the gate after they left.

"Uh, sir?" Tenryuu suddenly spoke up beside me. I quickly hid whatever emotions had allowed to play on my face before turning my head to look at her.

"Yes, Miss Tenryuu." I replied a little too monotone.

"Are… you alright?" she continued, and I looked back at the gate. A memory of a once happy home playing in mind for a moment.

"As well as I can be." I simply replied before turning and walking back to my office.


	5. Chapter 5

Kantai Collection: New Admiral

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Kantai Collection… at all

POV: IJN Tenryuu

2000 Hours

I sat next to one of the warehouses near the destroyer dorms throwing a softball at the wall and catching it when it bounced back repeatedly. My mind kept drifting back to the Admirals family, and the little impromptu storytelling he put together. My thoughts kept me from sleeping, and I wasn't going to go and wake someone up to listen to me vent. I was a badass after all. I didn't need to vent to anyone.

And yet here I was trying to take my mind off what I saw today, but it never left my mind. He always smiled at all of us when he got a chance, but it seemed... forced. Today was the first time I had seen him with a genuine smile on his face, and only when he was with his little sister. Even with the majority of his family his smile seemed, for the most part, forced. He seemed to only enjoy the company of his oldest, and littlest, sisters.

It was strange. I never had that problem with my sister or my Kindergarten. Even though my sister has quite the sadistic streak she never treated me like he was treated by the majority of his family. What went wrong? He always acted strong smiling at appropriate times for those around him, but he looked so… lost, and broken inside, despite his best attempts to hide it. I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice this, but some on the base may ignore that because he's American.

I was jarred out of my thoughts when my softball was caught after it rebounded off the wall of the warehouse. My hand was still outstretched it catch it now frozen in place. I stared at the hand which caught the ball for a moment before following the arm up to see who it was. Nagato stood there regarding the ball in her hand before looking at me. I froze. Had I been to loud? Did I wake some of the Destroyers? I didn't think I was throwing the ball that hard!

"I thought you were heading to bed?" she asked me after a moment. I remained frozen hand still extended in the air.

"Uh… ya. I-I was." I replied attempting to keep the stutter out of my voice. Badasses do not stutter! Then again, most people don't have a battleship staring them down either.

"Trouble sleeping?" she asked letting her hand holding the ball drop to her side. I put my hand back to my side as well.

"Ya, I got a lot on my mind." I replied still staring at Nagato.

'WHAT DID I DO DAMMIT!' I screamed in my head as Nagato stared back at me.

"Thinking about what happened today with the Admirals family today?" she asked me and I blinked several times. How did she know?

"How did you…?" I asked, and a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips.

"I couldn't sleep for the same reason. It's hard to believe a family would treat one of their own like that." she told me before tossing the ball back to me. she walked over to the wall opposite of me, and leaned her back on it so she was facing me.

"What could have caused that? I mean me and sister have our problems, but whatever happened with his family must have been bad." I reasoned, and Nagato nodded.

"I was thinking the same thing. With a lift of the ban on Naka's internet I asked her to do some digging. It... wasn't what I thought it would be." Nagato told me looking at the ground between us.

"What do you mean?" I asked her, and a small grim smile spread across her face.

"I had hoped it was something to show the Admiral's behavior was just a facade, something I regret thinking. He is simply a man practically just as lost and confused as we are. I'll explain tomorrow morning during breakfast. A lot of questions have been raised about the admiral today. I hope I will be able to quell them before they get… out of hand. Would you be willing to get all of the destroyers there in the morning?" she asked me and I blinked a few times. I didn't expect this at all.

"Um… yeah. I can uh... get them there." I replied slowly not entirely trusting my words right now.

"Thank you." she muttered with a smile then tossing my soft ball back to me, which I barely caught, before walking away. As soon as she was out of ear shot I jumped to my feet and bolted back to the Cruiser Dorms. Ignoring the sweat on my brow as I went which totally didn't show I was generally terrified, as badasses were never terrified. I jumped into my bed while my mind reeled. I silently thanked whatever gods or goddesses there were that my sister was already asleep.

What the hell had Nagato found that made her act that way? I know Nagato lost her sister on what was basically a suicide mission with two of Kongou's sisters, but even then she kept a decent handle on her emotions. What had his family done? Why did Nagato think that about the Admiral, then be ashamed of it? Question after question drifted through my mind. I got little sleep that night.

TIME SKIP

POV: IJN Tenryuu

0700 hours

After groggily pulling myself from what little sleep I got I immediately went out to the Destroyer dorms to corral them all into the Mess Hall for breakfast. There was some grumbling here and there from them, but mostly just confusion for why we were all going to the Mess Hall. some of the destroyers usually go to Mamiya's for breakfast before the carriers and battleships ate everything Mamiya could make with her small cafe.

When we got to the mess hall almost all the other ships were present, even Mamiya. The only ones who weren't were out on patrol or helping the Admiral get his paperwork in order which was basically Ooyodo.

With everyone present Nagato stepped up onto one of the tables so she could be seen by everyone in the mess hall.

"I assume all of you are wondering why you're here this morning." she stated more than asked, but a ripple nods and 'yes ma'ams' went through the room.

"What I wish to address is the events which took place yesterday concerning the admiral and his family. I'm sure most of you are wondering why his family would treat him in such a way." Nagato explained causing a bit of a commotion to go throughout the mess hall.

"I was wondering that too…"

"What do you think he did?"

"Probably something awful."

I couldn't really tell who was saying what in my half-awake state, but I didn't contribute to the noise. Everyone quieted down when Nagato raised her hand.

"I had my own suspicions, so I had Naka do some digging to find out why with the lift of the ban on her internet. It was… not what I expected to find." Nagato began and no one spoke up when she paused. Whatever she had found was enough to stun her, and it more than likely not what they had thought of initially.

"How many of you remember the Abyssal attack on San Francisco two years ago shortly after the beginning of the war?" Nagato asked causing a nod to ripple through the ship-girls.

"Didn't the battle end in victory, Nagato?" Kaga asked from somewhere in the mess hall, but her monotone voice carried over the entire room.

"It did end in victory for the United States, and Admiral Raeburn was on the ground, as a captain, in charge of a large portion of the surviving defense forces. Admiral Raeburn's father was also in the city, and it was believed he made it to one of the cities bomb shelters but did not survive. Most of his family blames him for his father's death." Nagato further explained and a potent silence fell over the mess hall.

"Shouldn't they be proud that he managed to bring victory against the Abyssals? Without any of us there?" Haruna asked from beside her sister who appeared to have tears brimming from her eyes. Kongou and Haruna knew the pain of losing a family member. Admiral Raeburn lost a family member then had most of his family turn against him.

"All they saw was the death of his father and blamed him for it. His mother attempted have him court marshalled. A court was convened, but nothing came of it. The judge dropped the charges with a closing remark. 'We should be proud Captain Tristram Raeburn was able to lead his troops to evacuate far more civilians than originally expected. He was also able to engage the Abyssal forces in gorilla warfare and keep them inside the city long enough for reinforcements to arrive and wipe out the abyssal forces.

"'Captain Raeburn did his duty as a soldier and leader in this battle, performed better than anyone else could have, showed us a previously thought undefeatable foe could be beaten, and there is no evidence to back up the charges. For those reasons the charges of abandoning civilians and voluntary manslaughter have been revoked, and removed from his record in every way, shape, and form. All of the records concerning this trial are to be kept in the Pentagon's JAG (Judge Advocate General) archive as this trial should have never happened.'"

Shocked silence met Nagato's words as all of the ship-girls processed what they had been told. Their new Admiral had led one of the first victories against the Abyssals without the aid of Kanmusu, but instead of being proud, his family attempted to ruin him. Which resulted in their stained relationship with the exception of his littlest, and oldest sisters.

Several of the Destroyers were openly crying and I did what I could to comfort them while trying not to look too sad as I was a badass, but who couldn't feel saddened after hearing that? Some of the others were crying, but most had guilty or downright shameful looks on their faces. They had probably assumed the worst out of the new Admiral with how his family acted toward him but had just been given a major reality check.

Although I wouldn't outright admit it, I jumped to the same conclusions, but considering he took the time to sit down and read to his little sister and my destroyers forced me to consider other alternatives. My own conclusion was that he had some sort of falling out with his family, but not this.

"Why?" I heard Ikazuchi, one of my destroyers, asked from where stood to my right. Her hands were balled into fists as tears were brimming from her eyes while staring at Nagato. "Why would they do that! He's been so kind to all of us! Even let me and my sisters listen while he read story to his little sister! WHY!?" she all but yelled tears now streaming from her eyes. Her usual verbal-tick didn't appear once throughout her tirade. A testament to her anger.

I quickly wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She relaxed a bit, but tears still streamed down her face. Despite the admiral's initially frightening demeanor the Destroyers quickly warmed up to him. And add on the story of him reading a book to his little sister and Destroyer Division six (DesDiv6). The story quickly changed the perception of the Admiral for the Destroyers. It was quite surprising how fast the story circulated throughout the Destroyer dorms, but its effect coupled with the reveal today was painfully apparent due to the teary-eyed destroyers.

The Admiral appeared to be a genuine good man, but he was stuck between a rock and a hard place in this situation. As I held Ikazuchi, who started to settle down, I made up my mind to go and apologize to the Admiral later. My girls never seemed to doubt him, but I did. I felt shame gnaw at me from inside because of it. We may have had a downright shitty admiral, but it was no excuse, especially for a badass, to assume Admiral Raeburn was the same.

The rest of breakfast was a quiet affair. We all ate at the mess hall and we slowly drifted out. After I made sure my girls were alright, I got up and went to the Admirals office. On the way I saw Nagato Talking to the Marine Colonel Irving. Man appeared concerned about something. Seeing as he glanced at the occasional ship-girl who passed by, which seemed to only deepen his concern, he was concerned about our current mental states, but Nagato seemed to be putting those concerns to rest.

When I got to the Admirals office I knocked quietly but received no response. I looked at the sign next to his door, which also had his office hours, and it was in those office hours. So I knocked again, but still received no response. Now I was rather concerned myself. I knew the Admiral was majorly injured in his mad dash to get to the base several days ago, and if he wasn't answering in his office hours despite appearing to be in good condition yesterday…

I opened the door, which was unlocked, and entered the Admirals office. The first thing I saw were the stacks of paper on his desk, and the papers covering the left wall, which all appeared to be from research and development which I noted in the back of my mind. The Admiral himself was slouched over on his desk apparently asleep with his desk light still on.

Considering the large amount of papers in the outbox, and the empty coffee carafe on his desk he had been working throughout most of the night. I had a feeling Dr. Talbot would not be pleased with him if he found out he had worked throughout the night. I walked over to him and shook his shoulder He groaned as he woke. I noticed one of his hands reached behind him where he kept his scythe but stopped when he saw me.

"Oh! Miss Tenryuu. Sorry about that… was there something you needed?" he asked while leaning back into his chair before wiping loose strands of his long hair out of his eyes and behind his ears.

"I... wanted to apologize, sir. None of my girls doubted you… not even for a second, but I… I did." I told him and he blinked and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid I don't understand… doubted me how? About what?" he asked confusion present on his face, but I saw a little concern behind his eyes. Any traces of the deep sleep he was in were gone from his face now.

"Well, sir. A lot of us saw how your family… treated you yesterday and assumed the worst. I… I almost did, sir." I explained and understanding dawned on his face before hardening into his neutral expression again.

"I did not… really think about how such an exchange would be perceived. *sigh* thank you for bringing this to my attention, Tenryuu. If I may ask, what drove you to apologize?" he asked me, and I could tell he was picking his words carefully. Kind of like how I was earlier.

"It wasn't badass of me to doubt my superior officer despite the fact my girls were holding out for you. And ah… I think you should talk to Nagato and Naka for the rest… sir." I told him with my usual laid-back attitude slipping back into place. I really did not want to be the one to tell him Nagato had Naka go and dig into your past to find out why you had family problems. Doesn't mean I wouldn't put him on the right track though.


End file.
